What Do I Have To Do?
by nicthepunk
Summary: He heard her confession, but he questioned her words. And now, he just had to find out the truth, because the memory was breaking him down every night. Manga-based, so spoiler warning! No lemon, but it's pretty angsty! Please R&R?


**Author's Note:  
**WARNING!**** This note... is going to be extremely long, just figured I'd warn you all ahead of time! -.-" But first, allow me to explain **why** I am writing such a long author's note in this story in particular, as opposed to my other more recent fics.

Well, putting it simply, I am directing this note (mostly) at both my currently active readers/subscribers, as well as anyone else who is interested in my work as a writer, and it is mainly going to be me giving you guys a full update on what to expect from me in the future, as well as letting you all be informed of what is going on with some of my still-active stories (which currently, there are only two that have yet to be "complete".)

However, I do not want anyone to get the wrong impression and think that me writing about my other work in this author's note is due to me wanting to get more people to read my stories, because I promise you that this is certainly not the case (although, it would be nice if this "self-update" ended up inspiring some people to check out my other work). With that being said, I would also like to add that after all of this updating crap, I promise that the rest of this author's note is going to be in regards to this fic, as well as why I have written it.

...So yeah, moving on, onto the actual point of this author's note!

**Firstly, **I would like to start off by letting you all know (in case you haven't been able to tell already), that I fully intend to be actively writing/publishing a lot more song fics and/or one shots.

**Secondly, **my two active stories "Yours To Hold" and "Don't Ever Let Me Know" are **not** on hiatus or **anything**, I have just been trying to figure out in my head where I want those stories to go in terms of finally ending, and from the looks of it, I have a bit of a ways to go—in terms of attempting to make the stories actually any good as far as the plot is concerned—before I can even begin to direct them towards those final chapters.

And I know that ending those stories isn't going to be easy, because ending my story "Stay With Me", in all honestly, was probably the most difficult part of writing a multi-chapter story, and the fact that it happened to be my FIRST multi-chapter story only made it a hundred times more difficult.

Considering that "Yours To Hold" has been in the process of being written for almost the entirety of the last year, I have actually forgotten some of the minor details of the earlier chapters, which had made it difficult to write the most recent chapter. This drove me to reread the entire story, and honestly, by the third chapter, I was sick.

After re-reading it all, I can honestly say that now, as a writer, the fact that I wrote something so... [in my opinion] poorly done—as well as it being so far from the actual storyline that it had actually ended up irritating me to no end—I've been considering taking the story down (despite it having, as of now, 36 reviews stating otherwise against my own criticism), and possibly redoing the entire story (doing my best to stick with my original idea, along with a few changes in the events taking place in the story), as well as a **lot** more detailing.

The only problem with doing this is the fact that it will be a lot more time consuming, and it may upset the people who are actually subscribed to this story (and not to myself as a writer), and if they happened to be waiting on the update, I feel as if though I'd be letting them down by simply taking it off the site without mentioning anything about it beforehand.

I've considered dedicating a chapter to an "Author's Note" and leaving the story published for about a month so that they would be given enough time to be updated before I removed it, but then there is the fact that if I were to make the promise to rewrite it, I would end up stuck with writing a story that possibly isn't going to be going anywhere, whether I rewrote it or not.

And so, now I'm in this dilemma, and I would really appreciate some advice on the issue, whether you decide to put it in a PM, or in a comment on this story—I'm not picky about which and, like I've already mentioned, it isn't to get more reviews or whatever. Just pointing that out again...

So then, with all of that being said, moving on (again lol)! As for my other story "Don't Ever Let Me Know", it isn't on hiatus either, and I actually am (for the most part) satisfied with how I have directed that story up to this point.

However, considering the fact that it **is**, in fact, a song fic, I'm going to be needing to figure out a way to wrap it up in a way that doesn't seem like I'm rushing the plot line, as well as to avoid the ending chapters (as opposed to the rest of the chapters) to seem as if they are serving as an epilogue and summing up some major detailing. Putting it bluntly, the song is almost over, and the fic is going to have to end with it, though I can honestly say it does still have a few more chapters left to go.

**Third, **I've been reading—a lot—of the Naruto manga, and I know what some of you are thinking (or rather, one of you in particular, and she knows who she is!)... "-GASP- Since when does she actually take the time to read the manga?"

Well the answer is YES, though not entirely – there would be just too many chapters for me to catch up on if I were to do that at this point in time (I'd say roughly 200, to be exact). But I have been skipping around, reading some chapters that I have been interested in, and it's safe to say that now, I am completely up to date with the Shinobi World War arc, as well as chapter 297-ish (which is the Five Kage Summit arc). In fact, it was around that chapter which has inspired me to write this story!

**Fourth, **this story is going to contain some spoilers for anyone who isn't up to date with the manga (or at least up to date with Naruto spoilers) and so I'd just like to give you a fair warning of that before you continue. I'm actually going to base the first part of this entire chapter off of a section of the Five Kage Summit arc, or more specifically, the part where it shows Sakura "confessing" her love to Naruto.

The Fourth Shinobi World War will **not** be mentioned in this story, and as far as the plot will be concerned, the Fire Country is still going to be in the process of "rebuilding" after the Invasion of Pein arc, and just slightly before the Containing The Jinchuuriki Arc. So I'm just giving you a heads up on what to expect.

That all having been said, I'm going to shut up now considering that this author's note in itself ended up being two pages long (I feel as if though I'm now simply wasting time -.-), and now, on with the credits, followed by the story!

**Song: **What Do I Have To Do?**  
By: **Stabbing Westward

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto, I don't own the song, but I do (for the most part) own this plot, so yeah... enjoy, my loyal readers! :)

**

* * *

You make it hard to breathe.**

* * *

Naruto stared at Sakura wide-eyed, his expression filled with shocked as he slowly grasped her words in his mind. He wondered if he had heard her correctly, or if it were just his imagination playing tricks on him (yet again), and he had decided to tread lightly and kindly ask her to repeat herself, because all of this seemed far too good to be true.

Because he hoped that his assumptions were right, but he couldn't be too sure of anything whenever it came to Sakura. Her emotions were too strong and she was offended far too easily, but that was one of the things that he loved about her the most – the fact that she wasn't afraid to let people know how she was feeling... She was the farthest thing from cold; a truly warm, and hope-inspiring human being, and that was a rare find when it came to the shinobi world. Aside from Naruto himself, the life of a shinobi offered no less than an outcry of empty souls; people who had been hardened from a lifetime of killing, along with watching their loved ones die before their very eyes.

The perfect example of this had been Uchiha Sasuke, a person who was so engulfed in his own Darkness as he walked the path of revenge, his mind and heart engulfed in the rage of the memory of what had happened to his beloved clan and eventually, to his only brother.

Once he had discovered the truth about the entire massacre from Madara, Sasuke immediately realized that his life's ambitions had been in vain, for the brother that he had killed—his only other living blood relative—was the very same as severing the last part of his past that had been relatively "good". And now, once again, Sasuke was walking down that same path, hell-bent on avenging now not only his fallen clan, but also, his fallen brother.

It was too bad for him that Sasuke was too busy blaming everyone for Itachi's death, despite having killed Itachi with his own two hands, but that fact in itself was an impending burden that someday, Sasuke would have to live with and accept by himself. Because in the end, that is all he is going to end up being – alone and by himself.

Sakura had given up on Sasuke now, despite not even being aware of the truth of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the truth that only a few people had actually been informed of the truth behind it all—Naruto being one of those very few people (albeit, unintentionally). But Sakura didn't know that, and Naruto knew he had to keep the truth a secret just as he had promised everyone the moment he was told about it all. But **dammit, **she had just somehow managed to throw him completely off guard, and he didn't know what to do about it.

And little did he know, that from the very beginning, that would end up being her sole intention of her words. But had he even heard her words correctly? He wondered... And he pondered upon it, wracking his mind for some sort of answer to a question that continued to play in his head like an endless mantra, tempting him to just succumb to his curiosity and voice it aloud to her.

_'...What...did she just say...?'_

He had to make certain of her words, for this was the one thing in Naruto's entire life that had actually mattered to him more than anything. Because at the end of every day, no matter how much he thrived to get stronger, no matter how badly he wanted to someday become the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, he would always put her first in his mind and heart. Because at the end of the day, Sakura mattered more to him than anything else.

That was why he had promised to bring Sasuke back to her, despite how much it hurt him to do so. He was just a kid back then, and already he knew what true love was. Because at that moment in time, he had managed to be able to force himself to put on his trademark grin—despite his heart breaking in two at the sight of her crying over someone else—and he promised her with all of his might that he would fulfill her wishes.

And where had it gotten him before this point in time? A few beatings for angering her, a few hurtful words on his own behalf... yes, all of this was true, but he had also not only gained her ultimate friendship and trust, be had had (from what she had apparently just said) gained her love.

But something didn't feel right in her words, and her poker face just seemed too unnatural at the moment. Because to Naruto, this was life and death. To him, her love was like the difference in weakness and in strength, particularly considering the fact that usually, Naruto's strength was fueled the most by his love for his precious people. It had happened when he fought against Haku to protect Sasuke, and it had happened to him as he fought Sasuke at the Valley of the End. It had also happened when he would have to fight with himself internally just to suppress his bijou.

When it all boiled down to it, his reasoning was always the same. He loved too hard and he would have given his life to protect all that he had came to care about in his life. But in the end, no matter how he tried to convince himself of otherwise, it was always Sakura who meant the **most** to him above everyone else. She was the one person he could always, without hesitation, truly say that he was in love with entirely.

But now, in front of their whole squad, she had blurted out a confession of her 'love' to him, and they were left standing mere inches away from one another, everyone around them remaining eerily silent, though it was mostly out of shock and confusion.

And quite frankly it was weird that she had chosen now to blurt something so serious out to him, and he couldn't wrap his head around whether or not any of this was actually real, because in all honesty, he felt like he was trapped in a beautiful genjutsu, one that he had no desire of ever releasing. If this were a genjutsu, he would die happily trapped within it if it meant hearing her say that she loved him.

Because a long time ago, he had realized that she had still loved Sasuke, despite everything that Sasuke had done to them. And he was alright with himself maturing to a point in his life where he didn't cling to the idea of her some day wanting **him **instead of Sasuke, because he could now tell the difference between fantasy and reality. But it was also at that point in time when he had sworn that she was smitten with Sasuke forever, and that fact alone was proof enough for him to ease up on the constant date requests, as well as the open signs of affection.

His heart was racing as he stared at her, his eyes searching her face for some sort of emotion—just a flicker of proof that her words could possibly be genuine. He knew that this wasn't a genjutsu, because he had trained with the best of the best to be able to tell the difference. Upon realizing this, he had to accept the fact that _that_ hope was crushed; this was real – this moment in his life, currently being shared by Kakashi, Yamato, Sai, Kiba, and Lee, alongside the both of them, and he prayed over and over in his mind for this not to be a trick, although something in his gut kept telling him that it was.

But he just had to be sure...

"What... did... you say just now... Sakura-chan? I... dunno if... I heard you wrong... Can you say it again...?" his words were carefully chosen, and he was scared to death of her response, no matter what the answer would be.

If she truly meant her words, he could be left feeling vulnerable before her, which could ultimately lead to her potentially breaking his heart somehow in the end. However, if she were joking about this—though he doubted the fact that she actually would risk hurting him in doing so—he would also be crushed, simply for the fact that she did in fact have the nerve to break his heart right here and now, and in the worst way he could fathom possible.

It felt as if he were being smothered, and his breaths were brief and delayed, as if he were afraid that merely _breathing_ would somehow ruin the moment before them. He was drowning in his emotions despite keeping up a calm facade (aside from his initial look of complete and utter shock) and as he waited on her to speak again, the feeling of suffocation was almost strong enough in that very moment to make him faint. He wanted to hyperventilate; he wanted to fall on the ground before everyone, grab his chest and his throat, and gasp for the air that he could not—for the life of him—force himself to take.

**

* * *

It's as if I'm suffocating.**

* * *

And what baffled him the most, above all else, was her expression. Of course he realized that outwardly, he looked as cool as a cucumber but inside... dammit, couldn't anybody notice that inside, he was a human wreck?

_'How is it that someone who confessed their **love** to someone else could look so calm and sweet?'_ His mind screamed at him.

Sure, he had told Sakura in the past that he had _**liked **_her, and any moron with half of a brain—even Sai, for crying out loud—could see that his feelings for her went much, much deeper than him simply liking her. No, the fact of the matter was that he was, and had been since as far back as he could recall, completely and utterly in love with her. And the worse part of it all was that either she didn't fully comprehend this fact or, she simply didn't care. Or was it that the fact that she never returned his feelings, which had made her lack of response to his actions of love, hurt the worst?

Naruto wasn't sure about any of it all, because it hadn't been too long ago when he had taken the time to actually sit down and muse upon his 'relationship' with Sakura during his time being a part of Team 7, and by the end of that entire recap, he realized completely that his love for her was one-sided.

With that thought playing in his mind, his gut continued to scream at him, his head repeating over and over that this had to be some sort of joke, because she couldn't be saying these things. Perhaps this wasn't her, but rather, an enemy shinobi disguised to look like her?

It was plausible, considering the fact that since he had already managed to make certain that he wasn't trapped in a genjutsu, he was also aware that differentiating between a replica and the real thing, in terms of shinobi, was nearly impossible, and the only true way to find out was through actions and words alone.

Regardless, all of his thoughts were pushed aside as her soft, calm voice began to respond to his question, his eyes never leaving her own, as if in some sort of search for some form of deception, though he had yet to be able to find any.

"What I said Naruto... is that I love you!" she paused for a moment, allowing him a second to absorb her words fully. His expression went from 'calm' to wide-eyed, the shock and disbelief of her words completely becoming relevant through his eyes. His eyes could never deceive anyone as to how he was feeling; he was just that easy to read. Finally, however, she began speaking again, her words beginning to further emphasize what she meant by her most recent confession of 'love'.

"I'm saying there's nothing between Sasuke and me anymore! I dunno what I was thinking, liking a person like that. I'm confessing my feelings here, so listen up!"

That had most certainly caught his attention above all else, and his facial expression went completely serious before softening slowly as he came up with some sort of a response. This just seemed too unreal and he wasn't sure how to go about responding to something like this, he had never seen her confession coming in a million years. It was always he who was confessing his undying love to her, only to have her reject him over and over again. So then, why now all of a sudden was she spilling her heart to him?

His heart was racing, and he wished more than anything to be able to feel her own heart beat in this moment in time, hoping that it would be some sort of indicator between the truth and lies.

**

* * *

And when you're next to me  
I can feel your heartbeat through my skin.**

* * *

"...But how...?" he asked, his voice wary and not entirely trusting – something that Sakura picked up on right away. "If you tell a joke like that in a situation like this, it ain't funny... Sakura-chan..."

For some reason, he had a gut-wrenching feeling that she was playing some sort of sick trick on her even though doing something like that was pretty unlike her. But this was something very serious to him, and if she did love him, he had to make sure. If she was being honest, he had to know the truth. But then again, he questioned the likelihood of her words distrustfully and remained wary of her.

**

* * *

It makes me sad to think  
This could all be for nothing**

* * *

Kakashi took a moment to chide in on their conversation, himself also baffled by her sudden love confession towards Naruto—a person she had, up until the last few years or so, treated like trash.

"...Just what...happened...?" Kakashi asked, his expression dull and unconvinced of her words. Glancing over at him, Sakura let out a sigh as she responded to Kakashi's question, her voice still calm and filled with resolve. Was she really that good at pretending to be fine with this?

"Nothing, really. I just suddenly realized there's no sense in continuing to like someone who's a fugitive and a criminal. I can't stay a kid forever... I want to face reality. So Naruto... no need to keep that promise... won't you stop chasing Sasuke...?"

She said 'like', and that minor detail alone threw Naruto off, considering he had been completely convinced that her feelings towards the Uchiha went far beyond the point of simply 'liking' him. He was convinced that she loved him, so then... 'like'...? She didn't 'like' Sasuke anymore?

Naruto drew a blank as he absorbed her words into his head. He looked so innocent in that very moment; so pure and kind, just as he truly was. His features were so soft as he gave her a puzzled look, uncertain of how to respond to her words.

As soon as she was done speaking, Yamato spoke up, clearly unconvinced of her words.

"What the hell are you..." He was going to ask what she was doing; what she was saying right now.

Both Yamato and Sai had told her awhile beforehand about how Naruto felt towards her, and back then, she showed no indication of it having an effect on her other than her feeling sorry for hurting Naruto so much in the past. Because she always, in a way, knew about how he felt, though he never actually used the word 'love' out loud. He never had the nerve to, and she knew that. Partially, that was why she was saying the things she was now.

**

* * *

I wish there was a way**

* * *

There was a long, silent pause before Naruto began to speak again, his mind wandering all over the place as he tried to wrap his head around everything she was saying. None of it made sense, and all of this was just too far out of the blue to possibly be normal.

"Did something happen...Sakura-chan? Why me all of all people, all of a sudden..." he asked. He was treading so lightly, afraid of her answers while at the same time, anticipating them all the same. Immediately, Sakura went on the defensive as she responded to Naruto.

"Nothing happened! ...If you want to know why I started liking you, I'll say it clearly—"

Naruto's face became stern and serious as he prepared himself for whatever she had next to tell him. Sai watched the two of them silently, keeping his promise to her of not interfering with their dialogue as he observed them both.

Sakura's eyes shifted towards the ground in a sorrowful expression, her head delving into sad memories of their youth when she was still in love with Sasuke. Once she had stopped reflecting on the past, she embraced Naruto in a hug, leaving everyone in their team speechless. Finally, she continued her confession as she embraced Naruto.

**

* * *

A way for you, to see inside me  
I never felt this way  
About anyone, or anything... tell me...**

* * *

"Sasuke-kun just keeps getting further from me... But Naruto... You've always stayed by my side... You've encouraged me... I... finally realized who you really are, Naruto. The hero who protected the village... beloved by everyone in the village... I'm just one of them... That mischievous little dummy I knew... little by little is becoming this great and important man... And I've been watching from right next to him. But all Sasuke's done is commit crimes and break my heart... More and more, he's becoming a different person than he was, so distant. But Naruto... you're right here where I can touch you like this... You make me feel safe... Right now, from the bottom of my heart, I-..."

He couldn't take her words anymore, and the gut-wrenching feeling he was having only seemed to worsen with the more she said. He didn't believe her, he couldn't believe her. None of her words right now felt legitimate and he still had the strange sensation that she was messing with his head. So he broke their embrace and stared into her eyes, his arms place roughly on her shoulders, gripping her so that she would remain in place.

"Gimme a break, Sakura-chan... I told you that joke's not funny..."

And really, if it actually were a joke, it certainly wasn't one he could ever look back on in the future and share a laugh with her at, because this meant more to him than anything else on the planet. Because the small sliver of hope he was feeling upon discovering that his love for her may be returned was far too great of a thing for him to risk getting hurt over due to a stupid joke.

**

* * *

What do I have to do, to make you happy?  
What do I have to do, to make you understand?**

* * *

There was a long pause as they both stood there staring at one another, Naruto's expression looking both scared and disbelieving while Sakura's own face looked on in an expression akin to confusion. In all honesty, he wanted nothing more than to be able to believe her, to be able to be more to her than just her friend at some point in the future. But his gut was convincing him to be wary, his mind was screaming at him in confusing riddles, and his heart was aching more than any wound could ever have caused.

**

* * *

What do I have to do, to make you want me?**

* * *

And suddenly, she broke the long pause between them with her soft chuckles, and he snapped out of his thoughts, thinking she was finally about to admit that this was all some cruel joke. At least if she were to admit such a thing now, it wouldn't hurt as badly afterwords as opposed to if she were to say more to him regarding the subject, thus leading his hopes along further than they already were.

"Have you flipped?" she asked, pausing a second to smile sweetly at him. "I just switched from Sasuke to you... they say a woman's heart is as changeable as the Autumn sky, don't they...?" she asked.

She was far too calm to be speaking of this so-called "love" that she felt, and that alone forced Naruto to realize one thing—her words weren't true. His hands never left her shoulders as he continued staring at her face, his expression immediately changing into one of pure sadness, his head locking everything together in place. She wasn't lying to him; she was lying to herself. And the worst part was, she may not even realize it. So when he spoke again, his words both shocked and hurt her.

"I hate people who lie to themselves!"

**

* * *

But, if I can't make you want me,  
What do I have to do?**

* * *

At that point in time, Naruto had grown slightly angry with Sakura, because now, having voiced his disbelief aloud, he wasn't buying her phony "confession" for a single second. He realized that her words weren't motivated by anything (i.e. a joke), but they also weren't being true not buying her phony confession for a single second, and it deeply hurt him that she would lie to him about something so important to him.

"Are you... saying... I'm lying to myself?" she asked, her expression looking shocked and genuinely hurt as she glanced at Naruto, who remained quiet as she continued speaking.

"I'm the only one who knows what I'm thinking! If you don't like me, then just say so! If you're gonna make up excuses—" Naruto cut her off, instantly silencing her monologue.

"It's just weird!" he shouted at her. "You came all this way just to tell me something like that!" Sakura instantly grew angry with Naruto's response to her love confession and she shouted back at him, now equally angry.

"Something like that! You think that it's easy for a girl to confess her feelings! All this way! Of course I'd come all this way! You've always been chasing after Sasuke and putting yourself in danger! Akatsuki is after you because you're the Kyuubi's host! You should be worried for your own safety! I...! I don't want you to go after Sasuke if it means putting yourself in danger like that! I've come here because I want you to come back to the village with me! That's all!"

As Sakura yelled at him in frustration, Naruto's features softened significantly as he stood there silently listening to her words. There was a long pause between them as they stood there looking at each other, both of their arms at their sides now as they stood a few feet away from one another. Finally, Naruto decided to speak again, his expression serious and tinged with hurt.

"That just sounds like an excuse to me. I think I know you better than that."

Immediately, Sakura countered by yelling at him once again.

"You don't know anything! I don't care about Sasuke at all anymore now that he's a criminal! So just forget about your promise to me!"

Dammit, did he not realize that she was trying to help him? She was putting herself out on a limb here just to save his life, and all he could do now was argue with her. It pissed her off to no end, though Naruto wasn't phased by her shouting at him.

Finally, he let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes and began to speak, his words soft and full of meaning.

"This isn't about that promise. I know why Sasuke... is so obsessed with revenge... He loved his family and his clan... I think it's because he loved them so much that he can't let it go."

"Then why did he join Akatsuki after he defeated Itachi?" Kiba asked, finally deciding to chime in on their conversation.

"That's not what happened... the truth is..." Naruto began before he was interrupted by Kakashi shouting his name, thus causing everyone in their group to look ahead of them, their eyes all focusing on the same target—Naruto. Kakashi stopped him from saying too much; it was a village secret that he was entrusted keeping private. That included Sakura. Finally, he got the message and continued on with his conversation.

"It doesn't have anything to do with my promise to you." Sakura was both shocked by his words, as well as curious as to what else he had to say to her, knowing that he wasn't quite done finishing what he had to say yet.

"I want to help Sasuke."

Sakura remained silent as Kiba walked up behind her and began whispering in her ear, his words causing her expression to change slightly, her eyes widening in an instance of fear that her initial 'plan' was going to be exposed.

"What do you want to do Sakura..." he began. "Should we tell him the truth?"

After the words left his mouth, she stomped hard on his foot to hush him up, and when she turned to head home, Naruto didn't have a doubt in his mind at this point that there was something everyone wasn't telling him, but before he could voice his thoughts, Sakura stormed off in the direction of the village, ordering both Sai, Kiba, and Lee—who she had originally brought with her to confront Naruto—to follow her there. She was extremely angry at that point and and they were all wary to further get on her bad side.

Naruto wanted to be able to outwardly respond to everything that was happening as he watched the four of them walk off. He couldn't force her to stick around and explain herself further; he had a mission to complete. But he knew for a fact that this wouldn't be the end of things, at least, not for him.

* * *

All of that had happened over a month ago, though the memory remained freshly imbedded in his mind to this very day. In fact, he found himself unable to sleep tonight because of it. And that's why he found himself where he was right now, standing in front of Sakura at her house, in the middle of the night, his eyes full of desperation. He could only find the power to muster up a single word, though he knew that this one word would speak multitudes of what he meant. And he also knew that she would know exactly what he meant by it.

"Why?" his eyes were full of confusion and genuine hurt, and it didn't take Sakura more than a second to realize what he meant. And it was at that moment, her anger at him for waking her in the dead of the moment was fizzle away, and her expression softened considerably.

She knew what he meant, how couldn't she? This was simply bound to happen anyway. She figured that he had figured everything out after she went after Sasuke and was nearly killed, but apparently, he didn't. And to be honest, she didn't either. At first, her words came to her so smoothly that day, and she thought that Naruto believing she loved him would convince him to give up on Sasuke.

She never fathomed that he would refuse to give up on the Uchiha, nor did she ever stop to think that something like this would bother him long after the deed had been done. Things hadn't gone how she planned in the end, and she came closer to dying that day than she ever had in her life. But once again, Naruto saved her, just like she knew he always would. And for once, she didn't feel weak because of it—Sasuke would always be too much stronger than she could dare to dream of being.

"Because... I'm pretty sure that... I do love you, Naruto... because despite how I used to be, I've changed... and so have you... and so has Sasuke." She paused a moment, her eyes searching his face for some sort of a reaction.

**

* * *

I know exactly what you're thinking,  
But I swear this time, I will not let you down.  
I'm not as selfish as I used to be  
That was a a part of me,  
That never made me proud.**

* * *

As she started speaking again, tears brimmed her eyes upon having actually admitted the truth of things aloud—both to him, and herself.

"And I'm sorry for using something as serious as that to trick you into not following me when I went after him, but... I didn't know what else to do, Naruto! He's going to end up killing you some day, and I can't risk that happening..."

A small tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at him, her eyes pleading out to him, begging for him to believe her this time, as well as begging him to stop chasing after Sasuke, though from what he's said already, that wasn't likely to happen. But maybe, just maybe, she could get through to him this time...

"Because if something happened to you Naruto, I would die... So then... if you'll stop chasing him... if **we** stop chasing him, we could be happy!" her eyes closed as more tears spilled down her cheeks, her arms crossing over her chest in attempts to protect herself from the gushes of wind that kept flowing around the two of them. Naruto stared at her speechlessly, and he couldn't find the words to say anything even if he wanted to.

**

* * *

Right now I think I would try anything,  
Anything at all to keep you satisfied.  
God I hope you see  
What losing you would do to me.  
All I want is one more chance... tell me...**

* * *

"Please stop putting your life at risk, if not for your own sake, then for mine!" her voice was increasing it's volume as she continued speaking, internally hoping her words would get through to him. She needed to get through to him now more than ever, because she wasn't sure that if she would be able to after tonight.

His expression was full of the conflict that he was feeling on this issue at hand, and seeing her standing there before him crying her heart out sincerely made him question his resolve to continue chasing after Sasuke. A part of him realized that her words could be spoken not out of love, but out of the friendship they shared together, though either way he would have done just about anything for her, and that was his biggest problem in the end.

"What do I have to do..." her words were cut off as she choked back an outward sob, her hand covering her mouth as she stared at Naruto in desperation.

**

* * *

What do I have to do, to make you happy?  
What do I have to do, to make you understand?  
What do I have to do, to make you want me?  
But, if I can't make you want me,  
Just tell me, tell me...**

* * *

"Sakura-chan..." words escaped him and he knew he couldn't make her another promise, a promise not to bring Sasuke back. Because things were different now than they were before the day Sasuke tried to kill Sakura, and Naruto knew that he was going to someday have to die alongside Sasuke in order for there to ever be peace among the three of them.

Of course, he never told _**her**_that; it would just make things harder on the both of them if her ever did. But still, that was the true reason he continued striving after Sasuke; he felt it necessary for him to be the person to end Sasuke's reckless path of darkness in order to bring about the peace he desired to the shinobi world.

"I...I can't...I..." He didn't know what to say to her, because as she stood there crying before him—over him—his resolve was wavering so much, and it was taking everything inside of him to keep it together and keep quiet about his own personal ambition.

**

* * *

Can I... how can I... how can we?**

* * *

He didn't expect her next movement; he never even seen her leave her respective spot in the doorway before him. In an instance, she was face to face with him, her thin arms quickly pulling his face towards her as she gave him the most heart-wrenching kiss he had ever felt in his entire life and his eyes widened as realization of what she was doing struck him.

But he did nothing to stop her from kissing him, only instead closing his eyes and responding to the kiss. He couldn't stop her even if he wanted to. Because in the end, Sakura would always be the one thing in his life that trumped everything else. Perhaps it was even enough to convince him to stop pursuing Sasuke; to practice what he preached all of those years ago about changing your own fate. Perhaps... they could be happy.

As she pulled away, she didn't go too far away from him and her arms remained linked around his neck as she held him close to her. It felt almost as if her letting go of him would be the end of her, and so, she clung to him like a lifeline, uncertain of what else to say.

"Naruto..." she paused and looked into his eyes, searching for some hint of emotion. His eyes were full of love, the same love he had been showing her for years, if not even more. And honestly, she didn't understand what any of this meant.

She still hadn't entirely figured her own emotions out entirely, but she did know one thing for certain: she did not regret a word she had said to Naruto aside from the circumstances under which she had said them. No, the only thing she regretted about that was not telling him how she felt sooner. And in a way, she supposed that was good enough.

So now, what could she say to him? Had he changed his mind yet about chasing Sasuke—or rather, did **she **change his mind about it? She knew he still probably didn't believe how she felt about him, his face not giving an indication of telling her either way. And so, she said what her heart had been screaming at her the entire night... or rather, _asked._

* * *

"**What do I have to do... to make you want me? What do I have to do... to make you understand? What do I have to do... to make you love me? But, if I can't make you want me, just tell me... what do I have to do?"**

And it was at that moment, Naruto realized that he couldn't change his life's purpose of chasing after Sasuke over her, because in hurting her, he would eventually bring about peace to this hate-filled world. And he knew that he had to break her heart in the process to achieve this.

So as he left her there crying in the doorway, he walked throughout the village, his entire body feeling numb from the cold night air, though he didn't seem to care or notice. He didn't have his usual jacket on for once, too rushed to leave his apartment in the first place in search for answers from her.

It was all ironic really—Sakura, the girl he loved and pursued far for over four years had finally returned his feelings, and he was the one who ended up leaving her before they could even see where it would lead. It was a lot to take in at the moment, and he wondered idly if he'd be able to make it to becoming a Hokage before his final fight with Sasuke.

"I never envisioned things would work out this way... Sakura-chan..." he whispered into the night, wondering if by some cosmic coincidence, she could somehow hear him, despite him knowing how ludicrous that sounded.

"I always wanted to be with you; to protect you from everything wrong that could happen in the world... but things changed within a one month time span... and now... I gotta go against my own wants and needs..." he paused, raising his shaky hand to his throbbing heart as he clenched at his chest through his black netted shirt.

He choked out a sob as he continued to speak to the night as he poured his heart out. Little did he know that a certain kunoichi was standing nearby, her chakra masked as she silently watched him, her small body hiding behind a close by building.

"I didn't think this would be so hard..." he said, giving a heart wrenching, forced chuckle before he continued his silent confession.

"...Someday, you'll understand, though I don't think it'll be for awhile... probably a long time after I'm gone... but you'll see when the peace is brought about the world, that I did this all for you... because Sakura-chan... it was never really for them, but for you..."

Once again, he paused, the bitter taste of his words overwhelming him and causing him to slightly blanch from his nerves before he even spoke them aloud. Cringing outwardly, he knew he had to say this for his own sake, or else he would end up running back to her house and giving up all self-control, for her.

"And now, I gotta focus on getting strong enough to bring an end to the newest addition to the darkness in this world... and although the Akatsuki's numbers are decreasing, I know that they're still after me for the Kyuubi..." Sakura's eyes widened at his words, the realization setting in, and she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps that was why he walked away from her tonight—due to the fact that the Akatsuki still could kill him someday, though these thoughts were smashed as he continued his silent reverie with the night sky.

"I've gotta destroy Sasuke, but I know that at that very same moment, he is going to destroy me too... but at least we can die together and hopefully my dreams of peace for this world will become a reality... Too many people have already died, I cannot allow that to be in vain. And before I do anything, that masked Akatsuki member has to be destroyed... Heh, it turns out I'm not as dumb as everyone thinks I am... Did they really think I wouldn't figure out that he was the village's biggest threat?"

Naruto's teary face glanced up at the starry night sky, revealing the first glimpse of his face to Sakura who was tightly covering her own mouth to keep her own sobs silenced from him. As she listened to his words, more and more her heart continued to break.

She hadn't gotten through to him, but at least he finally believed in her love for him. But despite all of that, it still wasn't enough for her to accept him walking away from her, from everything that he believed in. Because he _knew _he was going to die and at Sasuke's hand! And he was going to continue going on with the rest of his life without telling her and pretending that nothing was wrong!

That alone both angered and hurt her, though in a way, she could understand why he didn't tell her – she would never trust him enough to go after Sasuke again, and just as she had when they were Genin, she would jump in between the two of them, the only difference being that this time, Kakashi wouldn't be able to throw her out of the way at the last minute. She would sacrifice herself for him, and she knew that wholeheartedly.

In fact, it was that knowledge alone that made her come to the realization that whenever the opportunity did come up, she would sacrifice herself to save Naruto because in the end, his life finally meant more to her than Sasuke's ever could.

Sakura was never the type of person to keep quiet too long; her tears were flowing much too quickly for her to suppress the sob that she began choking on. This noise didn't go unnoticed to Naruto, who immediately turned around on his heel, a look of pure frenzy mixed with excruciating heartache written all over the contours of his face.

_'Who's there?' _

As they once again met eyes with one another, Naruto turned a ghostly pale, never in a million years thinking to make sure she didn't follow after him—that was his most grave mistake.

Her eyes were angry, but her expression was crushed as she stared hard into his eyes, her resolve never wavering as she stood her ground and faced the man who had just tried to walk away from her, from her feelings. Someone else had already done that to her once, and her heart couldn't bare to let that happen again.

"You underestimated one thing out of all of that, Naruto-kun..." she said, a look of fiery love flashing in her eyes as she began shakily walking towards him, the cold night breeze instantly drying her tear stains to her pale cheeks.

She stopped a mere inches from him and cupped his cheek in her hand softly as she stood there, her eyes never leaving his face as she studied his responses to everything she was doing.

"W-what's that?" he asked, his voice still tinged with the panic of having been found out entirely.

This wasn't supposed to happen... Sakura was never supposed to know that he was going to die; that would only make things harder for the both of them, though especially him, for he would be constantly worried about her safety above all else. Knowing Sakura, he knew without a doubt in his mind, she would get in the way of the final battle between the two males and in the end, she would end up getting killed. It would truly be the loss of a genuine innocent; an angel, he mused to himself.

"For as long as I am alive and breathing, I will never ever let you go after him alone, especially not now that I know all of this... With that being said, I'm sure even you are smart enough to figure out what is bound to happen whenever the final moment comes which you are so desperately preparing yourself for. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you are... you've got everything else figured out, right?" her words came from clenched teeth, her expression angry and genuinely hurt as Naruto's own face shifted to an expression akin to both realization and sadness.

"Yeah, I know that, Sakura-chan..." his eyes shifted away from her; he was no longer able to look into those fiery green eyes of her. They held too much love, too much sadness and anger, for him to not crumble before her into submission. Though what he would be submitting to, he wasn't entirely sure.

"And there's nothing I can do to change your mind about that? Even you know that what I'll be doing is necessary..." he asked, hoping for the least likely response that she would agree, despite him knowing that she never could.

"Not a chance in hell."

Her words were strong, and it was in that moment when as Naruto's eyes drifted back to her own, he realized in all prospects just how strong of a woman she had become over the years, and he truly held the utmost respect for her as both his friend, as well as the woman he had quickly grown to fall in love with, even though he was still so young at the time.

But age meant nothing in comparison to love being able to grow in the heart of a person whom had lived a life in solitude. That is, before he joined the actual ranks of being a Konoha shinobi; before he joined Team 7 and eventually, through her, had learned what true love was. And he knew at this very moment that none of the things going on between the two of them was a joke anymore, and his breath caught in throat at this realization. She loved him, and she was going to someday die for him.

Shakily, he let out a long sigh at this thought, and Sakura stared at him quietly for a moment, her eyes showing anticipation as she waited for him to respond and say something to her—anything at all. And so, he spoke again.

"I wish that things were different... but I already know what I was destined to do in my life as a shinobi. I have to get stronger, and I have to bring about the peace that Ero-sennin had always dreamed about. The toads, they truly believe that I am "the child of destiny", and it took me a long time before now before I actually realized what that meant. And now, I know what I have to do." Sakura's lips shifted downward into a frown upon his words—though she didn't doubt his capability for a second, she still wasn't happy with how things had to turn out.

"You can't save the world, Naruto!" Naruto's features softened as he gave her a small, sad smile.

"I never said that I could save it... I'm not even sure if I can really bring peace to it either, or if it will take someone from the generation before me to achieve that, or the one after that... Anyways, I know that if I allow Sasuke to continue on in the direction he's going, this village and everyone who had died to protect what it stands for... it will all have been for nothing!" His eyes were filled with a new set of tears, though they were brought out of anger rather than sadness.

"And everyone else has seen the same thing as well..." he added, his tone a lot softer than before as his eyes closed momentarily. Sakura stared at Naruto, a new set of tears also forming in her own eyes, threatening to fall.

"Gaara sees it... Ero-sennin seen it... Everyone... Sasuke is too far gone and—"

"Do you think I don't realize that, Naruto? Why do you think I told you to stop all of this foolishness? Sasuke was our friend, yes, but that Sasuke is dead now! Let him go and just... stay here with me... please..." Naruto let out a sigh and ran a hand through his long spikey hair.

"I can't do that Sakura, and you know that." His words were solemn and it was in that moment, that Sakura realized there was no reasoning with him. Sakura also let out a long sigh as she realized something very vital out of all of this...

"Then get ready, but hear this, Naruto—there is no way in hell that when the time comes to take out Sasuke that you're going to die alone. Because I know that shishou is going to wake up from this coma, and when she does, I'm going to start more of my training, and I'm going to get stronger too! And things aren't going to end for me the way that they almost did when we were Genin, back on the roof of the hospital? And I'm not gonna hesitate this time to kill Sasuke should the first chance come!"

Naruto stared back at her with wide eyes, the resolve and determination residing in her words shocking him to his very core as she spoke. Her voice was full of authority and her knew for a fact that she would remain true to her word.

It hurt him to know that the woman he loved would someday die, but in some sick sense, it comforted him to know that the person he would be dying with wouldn't just be someone surrounded by darkness, but rather, it would also be beside a person with a heart of gold.

And someday, he would die with the love of his life as he ended the life of his childhood best friend, though as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end sometime. It was only a matter of time before Team 7 was bound to die; the three of them being one another's end seemed rather nostalgic and ironic. It would be a fate that was suiting, because at least then, there wouldn't be one person left behind to grieve the loss and the cycle of pain would finally come to an end.

And that was all Naruto needed to know as he kissed her passionately there, tears pouring down both of their faces in agony. As they kissed, the seconds turned into minutes and it wasn't long before they were bracing each other in a long, heart-wrenching hug, their fates having been set in stone. They would die together, and they accepted their fate.

In the end, they knew, it would be for the greater good of mankind. But they also had a long ways to go, thus they indulged in each other a little before they began walking down their newly found path in life—the path that would ultimately lead them to their childhood friend and teammate, as well as their tragic end.

As they parted for air, they never left one another's embrace, and Sakura looked up at the night sky in awe, finally noticing the beauty of the stars for the first time in the longest time. For a moment, Sasuke came to her mind, but the feelings that followed weren't of love, but rather, acceptance.

"I never thought in a million years that I would end up loving you in the end, you know?" her soft voice immediately caught his attention and Naruto's eyes shifted to Sakura's face. Lowering her own head to meet his gaze, she offered him a sad smile, despite the tears that still freely flowed from her closed eyes.

"It's so ironic because... I loved him so much, way back then? Back when we were kids, I mean, none of us would have ever dreamed things would have turned this way, even though Sasuke had told us what his life's ambitions were... to kill Itachi... to revive his clan... I would have never dreamed of how he were to go about it."

Naruto's lips turned into a frown as he listened to her soft voice speak, himself knowing the truth in her words all too well.

"I think that even if we were told back then what would happen to us all, we would have laughed it off... even the teme would have laughed about it, because it all would have sounded completely and utterly insane."

Naruto chuckled dryly in attempts to lighten the mood, though once he realized that was futile, he immediately turned serious once again as he continued speaking.

"I really wish you wouldn't have went after him that day... we were supposed to bring him back together, ya know?" Sakura's eyes opened and she stared at Naruto a moment, guilt filling her heart as she began to explain her reasoning.

"I thought that I could bring myself to end it all because I really did realize that Sasuke was hopeless. But then, when it all boiled down to it, I was blinded by my desire for him to still be the same person he was when we were younger. That was when I really screwed everything up..."

Tears continued pouring down her cheeks, but her voice remained strong and never wavered as she spoke to him, her heart trusting him completely. He finally broke their embrace to lift his hands to her cheeks, his thumbs brushing away her stray tears before cupping her face in his hands.

"So you really don't love him at all anymore?" And there it was, the question that she had been preparing herself from since she had first seen him on her doorstep earlier that night. Letting out a long sigh, she began to speak once more, her heart pouring into his lap for him to take at will.

"He's made it impossible for anyone to love him because he has done too much evil already. But he chose the path he's walking on now, and he knows that at any given moment, he could have returned home at will with us, but he never did. He hates us, Naruto—he genuinely hates both you and I. At first, I figured he just didn't like us, but never could I fathom that hatred. That is, not until that day at the Summit when he tried to kill me. It was the look he had in his eyes that showed me just how far he was lost. But in a way, I don't think he's doing all of this on his own, ya know?"

Sakura's question made Naruto give her a questioning glance as he unconsciously lowered his hands back to her waist, satisfied that her fresh tears were finally wiped away from her cheeks.

"What do you mean by that, Sakura-chan?" he asked her, although he roughly had a general idea of what she was referring to, or rather, _who._

"You've seen him – the masked Akatsuki member. He was with Sasuke that day, back in the Land of Iron. I have a feeling in my gut that he's the one calling all of the shots from the sides. If memory serves me correctly, he goes by the name 'Tobi'." Naruto's expression hardened into a grimace, the truth in Sakura's words cutting through him like a knife.

"Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. Before the final battle takes place between our team, I want him to be taken down." Sakura smiled at Naruto as she ran a finger through his hair.

"Not to stroke your ego or anything but... I think that you may be the only person on the planet who is capable of doing that, aside from Sasuke. Because you two are so much stronger than I could ever dream to be... but I'm not really dwelling on that considering it's my own fault that I failed to get stronger earlier on in my youth. But what can I say? I was a stupid child blinded by my false idea of love towards a guy who doesn't even have a soul anymore. Even back then he was cold, but at least he had been a part of _life—_the life that the three of us, as well as Kakashi-sensei—had made together."

An expression of pure guilt swept over her features as she recalled the night that Sasuke was leaving the village, and it was at that moment when she realized that up until this very day, she never had properly explained what had happened that night to Naruto due to the fact that she was too busy mourning Sasuke's leaving.

"There's something about the night he left that I should tell you... you know that I was the last person to see Sasuke before he left, right?" Naruto blinked his eyes at her a few times before slowly nodding his head, his eyes never leaving her face as she spoke.

"Well, I told him that I was more than willing to leave with him; to betray the village and everyone... just so that I could be near him... and at the summit, I had made the same offer... Back there, I could have sworn that I wanted nothing more than to still be with him but in actuality... I just wanted to try to save him. But now I realize that he is already gone forever."

Naruto's eyes widened at her words, shocked beyond all recognition. Her words were so unlike her, though for some odd reason, he fully believed her capable of saying them considering her past feelings for their fallen teammate. But he honestly didn't know what to say, or how to react. Even after all of these years, she was willing to gain a status as a traitor of the village; to leave Naruto just as Sasuke had?

"What about me?" he asked her softly, his voice tinged with a tone that gave off every indication that his heart was aching from this new revelation, and this didn't go unnoticed by Sakura, who let out a long sigh as she started to speak.

"I don't think I really knew what I felt for you back then until after he tried to kill me; when you had to save me again, just like you always did..."

_'Because I was too weak to save myself...' _She thought bitterly.

"...But it was afterwords that I started to relive my entire confession to you and it didn't take me very long to wonder if my words went beyond just words, or if I truly was in love with you... But in the end, I realized that I am in fact in love with you and that the Sasuke I had once loved is long-since dead and gone. However, with that being said... had Sasuke agreed to take me with him either of the times I had asked... well, I don't even know what could have possibly happened, but either way, I guess it just wasn't in the cards for us. The three of us are chained at the neck, and if it were possible, I'd break the chains holding 'us' to him, even if it meant breaking his neck in the process... I'm sorry that I hurt you, Naruto."

She didn't give him a chance to respond, her and pulling his face back towards her as she kissed him briefly on the lips before pulling away, thus allowing him to respond to her. Despite having kissed her so many times tonight already, he still couldn't help feeling his breath being taken away and it took him a moment to collect himself before he could speak again.

"I forgive you, Sakura-chan – I know that you had your reasons, albeit they were reckless and could have actually cost you your life this time around. I'd be a liar to say that I'm not mad about that entire incident but at this point in time, it's all just water under the bridge for us. All we can do now is move forward and get stronger so that we can reach our goal and end this entire mess. I guess that in a way, it's always our responsibility as Sasuke's 'friends', if you can even call us that anymore, to clean up the mess that he has created..."

He paused a moment, his now narrowed eyes shifting sideways as he began to mutter out: "And it's definitely a big one, too..."

Sakura let out a sigh and smiled slightly as she stared at Naruto, her features turning soft and full of love. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but to grin back as they both began to feel complete and utter serenity. A moment passed before Sakura tilted her head back up towards the stars above them, her bright green eyes staring at them all thoughtfully.

_'Sasuke-kun... I don't know where you are or what you are doing right now, but if by some off chance that you can hear me or rather, feel this moment; to share it with us as we all stand under these same stars somehow... I wish things didn't have to be this way... I wish that you were still in the village with us and that things hadn't gone so horrible, but I guess that this was all just a matter of fate... The only good thing that has seemed to come from you leaving is that not only did the three of us get stronger, but I finally got to see the one good thing that I always had right in front of me...' _

She paused for a moment in her thoughts as she shifted her eyes back down to look at Naruto, whose eyes were now closed as he simply enjoyed the moment at hand, his face relaxed as he smiled softly.

_'I would have never seen the one person I was destined to truly fall in love with... Because now I know that after all of this time, I was never really in love with you... I just liked you so much, that at the time, I mistook that for love. I was just a foolish little girl back then, too busy wanting you to notice me to actually do something with myself and make an effort to get stronger...'_

She let out a sigh, her thoughts slowly shifting in a more negative direction.

_'Someday, you're going to realize what our fates were, and I hope for your own sake that during that moment, you'll realize that everything you have ever wanted for yourself—the revival of your clan, the revenge upon your brother, and the emptiness you've been feeling in your heart for so long—has all just been in vain and in the end, your hatred had to be put to an end! Sasuke-kun! We love you as our friend and as our teammate, but we cannot allow you to destroy the world that we are striving so hard to build... A world that I never even knew I wanted before Naruto had actually put it into words. I just hope that in the end, you'll finally open your eyes as you're taking your last breath of air and you'll see just a fragment of light... you owe yourself that much before you enter the realms of the afterlife...'_

"I wonder what he's doing right now," Naruto softly asked, and Sakura was immediately torn from her thoughts. It was a little ironic of him to mention Sasuke in the very moment that Sakura had been thinking about him, though she didn't think too much of it either way. She let out a long sigh as she ran her fingers through her own hair, brushing her long bangs out of her eyes.

"Does it really matter at this point? No matter where he is at, he'll always be trapped in the dark... just like he wanted to be. Do you think he's alone?" Naruto let out a sigh of his own as he entwined his fingers with her own.

"Probably not. From the looks of it, that Tobi guy keeps Sasuke on a pretty short leash. I wouldn't doubt it if they were working together as we speak, planning the destruction of the village or something..."

There was another long pause between them as the air blew around them, leaves swirling around in the wind nearby. They weren't cold, but they were warm enough just being near each other. After a few moments, Sakura voiced an opinion that had truly left Naruto speechless.

"I hope that you can make it to becoming the village Hokage before all of our plans fall into place. It would just be a shame to watch that ambition go to waste." Naruto's eyes widened at her words and his heart filled with warmth as he grinned happily at her.

"I hope for the exact same thing... but at this point, who knows what will happen, ya know? Nobody knows when the time is going to come for Sasuke and I—for the _three_ of us—to have to fight one another. It could happen anytime, but I think... I think that we still have a lot of time ahead of us to get strong enough to be able to fight one another and reach our end by giving it everything we have. We're still in our prime at the moment, you know?"

Sakura nodded her head as she truly let Naruto's words sink in. They still had a ways to go and that much was certain. She just hoped that for all of their sake, once they were finished getting stronger, she would be good enough to be at the same level as the two of them in order to avoid getting in the way of them like she had when she was younger.

Because in the end, this would be _their _fight, and all three of them were going to someday be remembered forever after it all was done and over with; that much was certain. They were going to be legendary and their battle would make the textbooks for future generations, just like the Uchiha and Senju battle at the Valley of the End had been.

They would be the new Legendary Sannin of their generation, but for now, they still had a ways to go. And for once, they were actually satisfied knowing they were currently too weak, because they knew that in the end, they would be that much stronger. And that was enough in itself to satisfy them.

"I know what you wanted back there at my apartment, Naruto... back when you left me... you should have known better than to think I could ever do **that**." Naruto looked at Sakura with a puzzled expression on his face, and he spoke to her in genuine confusion.

"Ne? Do what?" he asked.

"**To forget about you..."**

* * *

They never became an official couple beyond that day, but they always held a deep love for one another—that much would never change. And as their lives pressed on, they remained true to their life's ambition, to get strong enough to make their final battle one certainly worth remembering further on down the road. And from there, the rest had yet to be written...

-The End

**

* * *

A/N: **Well, holy crap, I never intended for this story to make it to 18 pages... wow... Nuff Said... Hope you enjoyed, and sorry there wasn't any smut in there, I didn't think that it needed it. I kept it at an M rating because although it was pretty teen friendly, it still was intended for a mature audience, ya know? Meh, sorry lol. Hope you guys enjoyed it! :D R&R and let me know what you think! Oh, and on another note, I actually think this story turned out pretty good... kinda angsty, considering it was starting to make ME sad as I thought it out lol. Also, going by the song, in case most of you didn't notice, the lyrics kept shifting between both Naruto and Sakura's view points rather than being directed at one particular character's point of view.


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